UK's cyber skills shortage is world's second worst

Things aren't looking good.

The UK's skills gap for security professionals is widening, and it's putting a lot of organisations at risk, a new study by job site Indeed says. The study has a couple more interesting conclusions.

For example, the UK is the world’s third country when it comes to the number of security roles advertised. At the same time, employer demand is exceeding candidate interest by more than three times, which is alarming to say the least.

The study says all ‘major countries’ are experiencing a lack of cybersecurity staff, but in the UK, the problem is quite severe. The number of cyber security job searches in Britain reached 31.6 per cent of the number of jobs posted. Israel is the only country having it worse at the moment.

“2016 saw a spate of big corporations – and even the US electoral process – suffer high-profile data breaches,” said Mariano Mamertino, EMEA economist at Indeed.

“But beyond the headlines, cybercrime is a threat to organisations of all sizes. As cyberattacks increase in scale and sophistication, British employers are racing to recruit staff with the skills and experience needed to protect their vital data. Sadly the supply of skilled workers isn’t keeping up with employer demand, and Britain’s cyber security skills gap – already the second worst in the world – is getting worse.”

“The problem is fast approaching crisis point and British businesses will inevitably be put at risk if they can’t find the expertise they need to mitigate the threat. This should serve as a wake-up call to Britain’s tech sector – it must pull together to upskill and attract more people into cyber security roles.”